EMDADUR Choudhury’s £50 fine for burning a poppy and abusing British soldiers was a disgrace – and so is the lifestyle he enjoys at the expense of the rest of us.

SPOUTING his brand of fanatical Islam while wearing designer clothes Emdadur Choudhury is clearly a man of many contradictions. The 26-year-old’s favourite labels are Armani and Stone Island.

He drives a smart car, lives in a house provided by his local council and to make ends meet is more than happy

to support his young family by claiming generous state benefits.

In fact he enjoys a decent quality of life in the country he claims to despise.

This week there was an outcry when Choudhury was fi ned just £50 for burning a poppy during a demonstration

against the British military operation in Afghanistan.

David Cameron was dragged into the row, adding his voice to those denouncing the meagre penalty for this most offensive act.

They’re clowns but they can also and has offered to pay his £50 fine. be dangerous

It seems that even Choudhury, a member of a rag-tag band of zealots calling themselves Muslims Against Crusades, could hardly believe it.

The maximum penalty available to the judge at Woolwich Crown Court was £1,000 but the actual fi ne was less

than he’d get for parking his car illegally, he laughed.

“I will wear it as a badge of pride,” said Choudhury, who escaped a harsher fi ne because the court heard he has two young children and is reliant on handouts to supplement the wages he receives working as an engineer for a company which instals satellite dishes.

“I mean £50 is hardly going to break the bank. It is the same fine a small boy would get if he stole a lolly from

a milk bar. It is not a serious fine at all.”

Despite the anger caused by his protest during the two-minute silence on Remembrance Day last November, he shows no remorse.

During the demonstration near the Royal Albert Hall protesters also repeatedly yelled: “Burn British soldiers, burn in hell.”

“What I did was not disrespectful, it was honourable,” he insists. “It was something I did for my Muslim brothers and sisters to raise awareness that British soldiers are not heroes. If they lose a limb or two in Afghanistan then they deserve it.”

Choudhury claims there is nothing he likes about Britain yet he has reason to be grateful.

His parents are economic migrants who by his own admission came to Britain from Bangladesh in the Sixties

to make a better life for themselves.

By all accounts they succeeded, working hard to provide a good home for Emdadur and other members of his extended family in east London.

He attended a state school and without excelling was a conscientious pupil who caused little trouble. Later he gained basic engineering qualifications and in his early 20s married and started a family.

He lives in a two bedroom flat in a nondescript pre-war block in Whitechapel, close to the old family home.

The court heard that each month Choudhury receives working tax credit of £240, child tax credit of £432 and child benefi t of £120.

Wages from his part-time job bring his total monthly income to £1,272, of which two thirds is from the taxpayer.

So far so ordinary but somewhere along the line Choudhury became a target for the Muslim radicals who hand out infl ammatory leaflets in our inner cities and hang around on the fringes of mosques.

Choudhury became convinced that Britain had little to offer, apart from the passport which allows him to travel freely.

He’s believed to have travelled to several Muslim countries and become a keen student of the Koran.

One of his calls is for Islamic sharia law in Britain and, according to neighbours, despite his love of Western clothes he insists on his wife wearing a veil in public.

He joined Muslims Against Crusades, the latest reincarnation of fanatical organisations including Al-Muhajiroun and Islam4UK, which was banned after threatening protests around soldiers’ funerals at Wootton Bassett.

The names change, the causes are the same and the common denominator is Anjem Choudary, a former solicitor.

He is a renowned zealot who denies that he is behind Muslims Against Crusades but has spoken at the organisation’s rallies.

His past outbursts include praising the terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers, describing them as “magnificent martyrs”.

He refers to Emdadur Choudhury as a friend and has offered to pay his £50 fine.

Although none of the organisations has enjoyed much support, decent Muslims fear they are tarnishing their religion and giving a false impression.

This week Choudhury claimed to have the backing of local religious leaders and family members but in reality found himself increasingly isolated in his own community.

His brother is among those who are shocked by the light sentence, while worshippers at his nearest mosque, the Jamme Masjid in Brick Lane, also condemned his protest.

“This is a peaceful mosque,” says one. “What he did was not representative of Islam. He does not represent the true principles of Islam. All he is doing is causing hatred.”

Choudhury insists his family is sympathetic to his poppy-burning protest, claiming: “My parents said ‘Carry on, son’. I’ve got their full support. My wife also supports me 100 per cent.”

He claims the prosecution for burning the poppy violated his right to free speech. I n truth, however, his fanaticism

has caused a family rift. His brother Harun says: “It is bad. For what he has done he should be in a cell but it really has nothing to do with us.”

In the fallout from the case the PM added his voice, saying Britain should make a “stronger statement” that the incident was “completely out of order and has no place in a tolerant society”.

Several social networking sites have also been founded attacking Choudhury and threats have been posted.

He’s been disowned by neighbours in the East End, where it’s feared his brand of Islam could rally support for the BNP and other Right-wing organisations.

One close neighbour, who had no idea of Choudhury’s extreme views, says: “I’m appalled to be living near him. He’s only been here for about three months and they seemed like a nice, quiet family.”

The path he has taken is depressingly familiar, say experts who have observed groups such as Muslims Against Crusades and how their rhetoric has seduced disaffected young men by giving them a twisted cause.

Ghaffar Hussain, a former activist, says: “It’s not about being poor or coming from a broken family. It’s about an identity crisis and feeling no attachment to the country you live in. There’s also a sense of rebellion against your parents and local community. These organisations provide a sense of purpose and a new scene, which can be very

intoxicating. Suddenly, they feel they fit in.”

In the Nineties Hussain was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has the goal of creating a single Muslim state.

He was recruited at college and believes radicals are still targeting schools and universities.

“They’ve tried the mosques but been kicked out,” he says. “Recruitment also takes place on social networking sites

and internet forums. What’s being offered is simplistic but appears attractive.”

So should we be worried about the likes of Emdadur Choudhury and his cohorts at Muslims Against Crusades?

Although there’s no suggestion he’s been involved in anything more sinister than the distasteful poppy burning stunt it’s claimed that hundreds of young British Muslims have travelled to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban.

British soldiers in Helmand province have reported Taliban radio chatter involving accents from the West Midlands, Yorkshire and east London.

These areas are all said to be hotbeds for recruitment by extremist Muslim groups.

Mr Hussain, who now works for the Quilliam Foundation, a counterextremism think-tank, says: “These groups represent a tiny minority of young Muslims, probably numbering no more than 50 or 60. The names of the organisations change but we keep seeing the same faces.

“On one hand they are publicity seeking clowns who will probably grow out of it but they can also be dangerous. The threat of a few gravitating to something more threatening is real and they share the same ideology as Al Qaeda.”

Security services have said they are tracking across Britain 2,000 individuals suspected of having links to terrorism,

investigating 200 networks and monitoring 30 plots.

Another danger, according to Dr Zahid Iqbal, of Minhaj-ul-Quran, an organisation that promotes religious tolerance, is that zealots such as Choudhury will be wrongly regarded as the face of Islam.

“Poppy burning is abhorrent,” says Dr Iqbal. “True Islam is compatible with British values. Most Muslims feel fortunate to live in a country that tolerates our religion but it’s clear that a small minority feel alienated and we have to accept that there is a problem.

“These people are full of contradictions. They claim to despise Britain yet they raise their families here and enjoy privileges such as freedom of speech. Decent Muslims have a responsibility to stop these extreme groups.”

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